KENNEWICK – Don’t fault Brooke Bray for waking up today with a sore shoulder.
Not the way the Auburn Riverside middle hitter performed Thursday on the opening day of the Class 4A volleyball state tournament.
After a career match in which she had a school-record 53 kills in the Ravens’ opening-round thriller over Richland, Bray led her team to a 3-0 sweep (25-16, 25-18, 25-11) over SPSL North-rival Kentwood with a 21-kill, nine-dig performance in the teams’ quarterfinal match.
The win puts Auburn Riverside (26-7) into today’s semifinal against Curtis, which ousted defending state champ Lewis and Clark, 3-1. In the other semifinal is Graham-Kapowsin, which will take on top-ranked Mead after the Eagles fought off a Skyview comeback in their quarterfinal match. The three SPSL teams – Auburn Riverside, Curtis and Graham-Kapowsin – assured themselves no worse than a sixth-place finish.
It was Bray’s stellar effort that led Auburn Riverside to a comeback win over the Bombers in the morning match. Down two sets to one, Bray had 12 of her 53 kills in the fourth to lead Riverside to a 25-20 win. That momentum carried over into the fifth set for a 15-12 victory.
Auburn Riverside’s five-set match with Richland lasted 21/2 hours with the first two sets going into extra points – 25-27 and 36-34. The second-set score was the second-highest in tournament history, since it went to rally scoring in 2003. That set up the quarterfinals matchup with Kentwood, after the Conquerors roared back from a 2-0 deficit to win in five against Issaquah.
The Ravens’ match against Kentwood was much different than the one in an SPSL showdown on Oct. 15 when Auburn Riverside came back to win, 3-2. The Ravens dominated Kentwood from the start. Time and time again, setter Brooklynn Bradbury – who had 92 assists in two matches – went to her go-to hitter, Bray. The 6-foot-1 Montana-bound Bray is the team’s lone player with previous state tournament appearance.
“Brooke set the pace for us,” Auburn Riverside coach Chris Leverenz said. “She’s definitely one of the best players we’re ever had. She’s stepped up like a veteran here.”
After dropping the first set, 25-21 to Lewis and Clark, Curtis, fresh off its West Central District III title, turned up its offense in the final three sets. Senior Emily Cotter had a match-high 22 kills, and Kajsa Knapp was a force in the middle with 17 kills.
“We knew they (Lewis and Clark) lost eight seniors, but you can’t underestimate any team at this level,” Cotter said. “We had to come out strong and not back down.”
In other quarterfinal matches, top-ranked Mead took down Olympia, 3-0, and Graham-Kapowsin defeated Skyview, 3-2. The Bears, who finished second to Curtis at the West Central District tournament, beat Skyview, 3-1, in a loser-out match late Thursday.
“We didn’t make (Mead) play,” Olympia coach Laurie Creighton said. “We didn’t play our game.”
Kayla Reno took over the fifth set in the Eagles’ 25-19, 25-18, 23-25, 14-15, 15-10 win over the Storm. Reno finished with 25 kills, 22 digs and five blocks.
Tahoma was the first team eliminated from the tournament. Just one week after being the Cinderella team at the WCD tournament, the Bears were taken out by Mead (3-0) and Jackson (3-0).
Meg Wochnick: 360-754-5473
mwochnick@theolympian.com
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